As every year, there’s a book fair as part of the festivities of Santiago, Saint James, La Antigua Guatemala’s patron saint. As you might already know, Santiago de Guatemala was the former name of La Antigua Guatemala and thus Saint James has been the patron since the funding of the city in July 25, 1524 … Read more
I am sure most people in La Antigua Guatemala don’t know about this monument or its location. In fact, this monument gives name to the plaza where it stands. Plaza Isabel La Católica is located at the cross roads of Calle Ancha and 6a avenida norte. From this corner you can go to San Felipe … Read more
Do all local governments tag or label every public work they execute? I ask because this is something I never noticed before coming back to Guatemala, but here every bench, post, park, bridge, et cetera is tagged or labeled with a sign, or like in this case, the label is built into the bench itself. … Read more
As I mentioned before in Casa Antigüeña: The Attic, the building codes in La Antigua Guatemala prohibit new construction of two-story houses (wink, wink). They say nothing of really high ceilings in single story homes. So what would you call this space, single story with really high ceiling, a mezzanine, an attic or simply a … Read more
The commonly used expression, “Those who ignore history are bound (or doomed) to repeat it” is actually a mis-quotation of the original text written by George Santayana, who, in his Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1, wrote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Rooted in the philosophies … Read more
The basket business could easily be another series about the ambulant food vendors who make a living selling all kinds food from a canasta (basket). These canastas can be used to carry and/or sell all sorts of things like tortillas, atoles (thick drinks), panes (bread), dobladas, tostadas, beef stews, fruits and vegetables, flowers, or tamales … Read more
Parque Central, as we informally call the Plaza Mayor (Main Plaza), is among the favorite photo session locations in La Antigua Guatemala. Heck, there are a half a dozen photographers who make their living there as shown in Pueblo Chico, Chisme Grande and Photographing the Photographers. Wedding photographers also like to use Parque Central as … Read more
Exactly one week ago, a few meters from where this photo was taken, two young women were waiting for the bus when a speeding truck lost control and crashed into them, killing them instantly. Their names were Aleyda (19) and Anita (20); both the most recent victims of negligence. Friends who live in Santa Inés, … Read more
I found this colorful sign at the entrance of El Jaulón building, just one block east of Parque Central. I am sure those who have visited Lake Atitlán would be familiar with the Circus Bar. I am happy to report that now we have Circus Bar in Guatemala City and in Antigua Guatemala. My best … Read more
Double hit today for the Guatemalan Slang category. Shuco(a) is the Guatemalan slang for dirty. Shuco is also used for Guatemalan hot dog. The Guatemalan shuco hot dog comes with guacamol (avocado sauce), boiled cabbage, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, mustard, hot sauce, and one or more of the following: chorizo (Guatemalan red sausage), longaniza (Guatemalan white … Read more
Today we open a new category that was long overdue: Guatemalan Slang. I mean we have seen some of the slang used in Guatemala in AntiguaDailyPhoto before, but it didn’t occur to me to classify it as such. Previous examples include words like Chamusca, Sompopo, Ishto, et cetera. Chilero is a word we use in … Read more
Who says you can not enjoy the patio dining areas during the rainy season? It is a good thing that most restaurants are covering their patios with transparent lamina roofs so we can enjoy the sunlight and the patio dining areas with rain or without. ¿Quién ha dicho que no podemos disfrutar de los comedores … Read more
We are very fortunate in La Antigua Guatemala because we have great coffee available all year. In case you didn’t know delicious coffee berries are grown all around Antigua Guatemala in the many coffee plantations. One can find the coffee berries in many stages as shown in The Ages of Coffee. Furthermore, the latest trend … Read more
Perhaps, coin-operated public phone booths have a better chance than pre-paid card operate public phones. Too bad there are not too many coin-operated public phones. Now it is a good deal to be able to call anywhere in Guatemala for 25 centavos (about US$0.03) per minute. That’s about 8 times cheaper than cellular phone rates. … Read more
You can still find many Telgua public phones booths through out Guatemala, but I am not sure anybody is using them. As of 2010, there were over 17 millions active cellular lines in Guatemala (1); that’s roughly 3 million more cellular phones than people. Since the cellular companies are now offering free or nearly free … Read more